1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates generally to manufacturing management, and in particular to systems and methods for exception management in a manufacturing environment using networked computer systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
For manufacturers that produce to order, such as most semiconductor manufacturers, clients having placed an order are allowed to interrupt or suspend production processes for the order. In a produce-to-order environment, clients place an order and get a commit date for product delivery. When a client requires a production suspension, an order released to foundry is temporarily taken back until the suspension is lifted. The suspension period, however, is determined by the client regardless of the status of the production progress. When requiring a suspension, the client does not consider potential impact on delivery resulting from the suspension. A commit date is determined according to an original order by considering manufacturing capacity, component inventory, and other factors. Generally, the commit date is a few days later than a scheduled completion date to maintain a buffer period. When the suspension period exceeds the buffer period, either a commit date failure or a rush order insertion occurs. In the former case, commit date failure causes client dissatisfaction, even if the delay results from their suspension request. In the latter case, an overall manufacturing schedule may be disturbed by the inserted rush order, resulting in commit date failures for other clients or additional costs (such as overtime pay).
Hence, there is a need for a manufacturing management system that addresses inefficient exception management arising from the existing technology.